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Mafia crime is 7% of GDP in Italy, group reports

ROME — Organized crime represents the biggest segment of the Italian economy, accounting for €90 billion in receipts, according to an annual report issued Monday.

The report, titled "SOS Businesses" and released by the Confesercenti, a major business association in Italy, asserts that through various activities - extortion, usury, contraband, robberies, gambling and Internet piracy - organized-crime syndicates account for 7 percent of Italy's gross domestic product.

"From the weaving factories, to tourism to business and personal services, from farming to public contracts to real estate and finance, the criminal presence is consolidated in every economic activity," the report said.

The €90 billion, or $128 billion, compares with the figure of €75 billion in the group's 2006 report.

Also highlighted is the trend of collusion that big businesses, especially in public works, participate in. "The businessmen prefer to make a pact with the Mafia rather than denounce the blackmail," the report said.

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On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI visited Naples and condemned a "deplorable" mob violence that he said had insinuated itself into everyday life. Long considered one of Italy's most dangerous cities, Naples is home to the Camorra crime syndicate, the local version of the Sicilian Mafia.

Usury is the most lucrative of activities by organized crime, with syndicates pulling in €30 billion and racketeering €10 billion, the report estimated. Illegal construction nets €13 billion, it added.

The businesses most afflicted by organized crime are in the south, in Sicily, Campania, Calabria and Puglia, the report said.

According to the report, 80 percent of the businesses in the Sicilian cities of Catania and Palermo regularly pay protection money, or "pizzo."